John McManus

Mr. McManus is a member of the law firm Harris Beach and a member of the Energy Industry Team and Environmental Law Practice Group. He represents corporate and individual clients on a wide range of matters involving permitting, compliance, civil and administrative enforcement, and dispute resolution. Mr. McManus’ permitting experience spans facilities involved with manufacturing, solid waste disposal, construction and demolition debris processing, wireless telecommunications, and housing. As a result, Mr. McManus has extensive experience with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and other state and federal environmental statutes and regulatory programs that apply to project permitting and siting. His practice regularly requires him to appear before a variety of federal, state, and municipal agencies involved with the permitting and licensing of facilities and projects. Mr. McManus is frequently involved with regulatory issues that require a nimble, multidisciplinary approach. For example, he recently served as lead counsel in a federal court action against a municipality on behalf of a railroad operating a transloading facility while simultaneously prosecuting and defending two dueling administrative proceedings before a federal agency. Mr. McManus also has experience in all phases of project development. For example, he represented a client in the proposed siting of a manufacturing facility and biomass power plant as part of the redevelopment of a large industrial area. This project involved multiple issues ranging from protecting the property from a municipal condemnation proposal to zoning and land use. In connection with this project, Mr. McManus also negotiated and drafted agreements with the local municipalities. Additionally, Mr. McManus has represented clients in a broad range of complex litigation matters, including commercial and regulatory disputes. His representative matters include: • Representing oil and gas companies on a variety of regulatory and commercial issues, including lease and right of way disputes, well spacing, compulsory integration, and pipeline siting. • Secured numerous permits and approvals for a sewer extension line in central New York as part of a negotiated order on consent with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). • Co-counsel in securing the permit for the first commercial telecommunications tower to be approved under the New York State Adirondack Park Agency’s “Policy on Agency Review of Proposals for New Telecommunications Towers and Other Tall Structures in the Adirondack Park.” • Negotiated assurance of discontinuance without penalties on behalf of a manufacturer in connection with an investigation by the Office of the New York State Attorney General. Co-counsel in representing a municipality in connection with a dam safety enforcement proceeding instituted by the DEC. • Drafted successful appellate brief that resulted in the reversal of a New York State Supreme Court decision to annul a zoning board of appeals’ determination, which had granted an area variance for the siting and construction of a luxury apartment complex, and allowed the project to be completed. • Successfully negotiated terms of settlement with the DEC regarding alleged violations of pesticides law by an applicator. • Successfully opposed a bus carrier’s application to the New York State Department of Transportation to abandon and change routing to certain rural communities in the Catskill Mountains. • Successfully opposed an appeal to a municipal zoning board of appeals seeking to block the construction of an air stripping facility. S• uccessfully opposed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of a provider of telecommunications sites. • Coordinated judicial, administrative, and legislative review of violations of the New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Law on behalf of retail client. Represented the client at the New York State Court of Appeals on novel General Business Law and Alcoholic Beverage Control Law issues. • Member of a legal team that successfully represented a mutual fund company in resolving a multi-million dollar breach of municipal lease-purchase agreement claim. • Member of a legal team that successfully defended a major mutual fund company in a class action lawsuit involving a variable annuity product. • Member of a legal team that drafted successful dispositive motion for international bank in breach of fiduciary duty and fraud litigation. • Successfully represented retail client in defamation claim against a competitor. A sampling of Mr. McManus’ reported cases include: Buffalo S. R.R., Inc. v Village of Croton-on-Hudson,434 F Supp 2d 241 (SDNY 2006). Mr. McManus began his legal career with an international law firm in New York City. From 2000-2002, he served as a confidential law clerk to the Honorable Victoria A. Graffeo, New York State Court of Appeals. Prior to joining Harris Beach, Mr. McManus practiced with an Albany-based law firm. http://www.harrisbeach.com